08/20/2008 - Saratoga Springs, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A dozen evenly matched three-year-olds have been entered in Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, led by Jim Dandy Stakes winner Macho Again and Jim Dandy runner-up Pyro.
The "Mid-Summer Derby" is a 1 1/4 mile race with all 12 starters carrying 126 pounds.
Despite winning the Jim Dandy at Saratoga, Macho Again is only fourth in the morning line at 6-1. He will again be ridden by Julien Leparoux from post five. The gray colt will try to duplicate the Jim Dandy-Travers double that Street Sense accomplished last year.
Trained by Dallas Stewart, Macho Again won the Derby Trial and was second to Big Brown in the Preakness Stakes. In his career, the three-year-old has earned $673,761 with four wins in 11 starts.
Assuming the morning-line favorite's position at just 7-2 is Pyro. The colt, trained by Steve Asmussen, will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan from post 11.
"He had a pretty strong race in the Jim Dandy," said Asmussen, "and trying to get two good races out of a horse here can be pretty tricky."
Pyro established himself early this year as a favorite for the Kentucky Derby. He won the Risen Star Stakes and Louisiana Derby, both at the Fair Grounds, then failed in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on a synthetic track.
After an eighth-place finish in the Run for the Roses, Pyro won the Northern Dancer at Churchill Downs leading into the Jim Dandy. In his career he has won four of 10 starts for $1,274,063.
Lightly raced Harlem Rocker is the 4-1 second choice in the program for trainer Todd Pletcher. The gray colt will break from post eight with Eibar Coa in the saddle.
"Physically, he has been a very nice individual," Pletcher noted. "He has gotten bigger and stronger as a three-year-old. The biggest change in him is that he's become much more of a work horse. He's a good-looking horse. I don't think we've seen the full potential of him yet. The Travers will be interesting."
Harlem Rocker is a Canadian-bred who is coming off a win in the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie, the second jewel in Canada's Triple Crown. Owned by Frank Stronach, the colt won the Withers at Aqueduct in April.
"He beat a quality horse in J Be K," Pletcher said about the Withers victory. "He beat him convincingly going a mile. I think that race stamped his quality because of J Be K's accomplishments (he won the Woody Stephens at Belmont Park). I think the interesting thing (about the Travers) will be the 1 1/4 miles. He has never gone that far, but he did run well at a 1 3/16 miles, and he acted like he had more to give that day."
Harlem Rocker has earned $445,799 with four wins in five lifetime starts.
The 5-1 third pick is newcomer Mambo in Seattle. The colt won a restricted stakes race at Saratoga last month in his first added-money start. He will start from post nine with jockey Robby Albarado.
Mambo in Seattle has won four of his seven career starts with $163,241 in earnings.
Here is the complete field in post position order for the 139th Travers: Tale of Ekati, Edgar Prado 20-1; Colonel John, Garrett Gomez 8-1; Da' Tara, Alan Garcia 8-1; Tizbig, Cornelio Velasquez 30-1; Macho Again, Julien Leparoux 6-1; Cool Coal Man, John Velazquez 15-1; Amped, Jorge Chavez 30-1; Harlem Rocker, Eibar Coa 4-1; Mambo in Seattle, Robby Albarado 5-1; Tres Borrachos, Tyler Baze 15-1; Pyro, Shaun Bridgmohan 7-2 and Court Vision, Kent Desormeaux 12-1.
The Travers will be televised on ESPN with a post-time of 5:45 p.m. (et).
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Twins activate 2B Casilla from DL >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins activated infielder
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Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rockies placed
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The rost
In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.
It is called the "pointspread."
Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.
But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.
A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.
In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.
The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere.
Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.
Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking
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